HULU & Netflix: The War on Cable

Some people expected flying cars by now, says Ronn Torossian 5WPR CEO. We’re not quite there yet, but we do have quite a few major advancements that have brought the future to us today, and a lot of those advancements come in the form of entertainment. Over the past few years, as cable TV prices continue to rise, more and more people are turning to alternative forms of entertainment, or alternative ways to get their TV fix. This trend is rising so much as of late that cable TV may start to die off in the near future (or change majorly) and this is great for consumers everywhere.

Netflix and HULU services came onto the scene a while back and have steadily been poaching cable TV users and have brought them to the world of on-demand TV shows and movies. With HULU a customer can watch TV shows almost right when they air and with Netflix entire seasons of old shows are immediately watchable. Netflix has also begun creating it’s own, original TV shows that launch entire seasons all at once.The younger generation of media consumers are grabbing onto the Netflix and Hulu trend and not letting go.

People who are just setting out on their own with low incomes now are deciding to pay the low Netflix or Hulu fee as opposed to paying a bunch for cable channels they may not want. The older generation, still mostly attached to cable, is also slowly beginning to see the light as their children or grandchildren come over and show off their Netflix or Hulu lists and log in from their parents’ or grandparents’ homes.

This influx to these streaming services is only good news for consumers, as cable companies will eventually have to react and lower prices or begin to offer incentives like ala carte offerings (buying only the channels you want, not whole packages). As we move forward through 2014 and beyond the number and scope of these services will only increase, putting more and more pressure on existing cable models to change and adapt to avoid losing their entire consumer base. Over the next ten years we could begin seeing much more flexibility in cable plans and packages as they feel more and more heat from Netflix, Hulu, and other services.

Overall this is great news for consumers, as the options will keep growing while the prices become more and more reasonable. After all, the customer is always right!